"A god? What do you mean, a god?" Senko asked, narrowing his eyes. Arden opened his mouth to respond, but before he could speak, Shinra placed a firm hand on his shoulder. "You remember what Headmaster Zeph said—we can't tell him," Shinra said sharply. Senko planted his fists on his hips. "Hey, why not?" he demanded. Shinra exhaled and sat down on a nearby log. "There are things you're not ready to know. We're forbidden to tell you," he said, his tone quieter now. Arden stepped forward with a commanding voice. "Besides, you should get some sleep, Senko." With a reluctant sigh, Senko turned and walked into his tent, falling asleep almost instantly—his soft snores echoing from within moments later. As the night deepened, Shinra and Arden leaned in close, whispering. "It can't be… Itami was sealed in the Cast Globe. Did he escape—or was he sealed with the purple demon?" Arden muttered, running a hand through his hair. Shinra rested her palm on Arden's arm. "You need to chill. The good thing is, he's still sealed. But why in Senko's eye? Raizo… did you really hate your own child that much?"
An unexpected Lucid Dream
Senko's eyes opened—but something was wrong.
He wasn't in the tent
He was standing in the academy hall, alone.
Outside the window, the sky bled red. Ash floated down like black snow, coating the marble floors in a silent, gray shroud. His heartbeat thudded in his ears as a low, distant rumble echoed through the halls. The silence was louder than a scream.
Panicked, Senko ran.
His footsteps echoed against the stone as he sprinted to the D-rank training grounds. The doors slammed open—and his breath caught.
Bodies.
Everywhere.
D-ranks. C-ranks. B-ranks. Even the A-ranks.
And the three S-ranks—legends—lay broken in pools of blood.
Senko stumbled back, falling onto the blood-slick stone. "No…"
His voice was small.
Then he saw them.
Leon.
Korra.
He ran, falling to his knees beside them. Blood smeared his armor as he crawled across the ground, hands shaking. Leon's eyes were crushed, just sockets filled with red ruin. Korra's golden hair was stained dark—her arm gone, torn clean off at the shoulder.
"Guys… what happened?" Senko whispered, voice breaking as he reached for them. "Please, wake up…"
No response.
He sobbed.
Behind him, the academy burst into flames. A roar of fire swept through the halls, the light catching on the blood-soaked grounds.
"SOMEBODY HELP ME! PLEASE!" Senko screamed. His cries were lost to the howling wind. "This can't be real. This isn't real—!"
Footsteps.
He turned.
A figure walked toward him, calm and slow, as if nothing had happened.
Itami.
Senko's eyes narrowed, rage boiling beneath the terror. "You… You did this, didn't you?!"
Itami laughed, hands tucked behind his back.
"I did?" he mused. "You mean you did."
Senko shook his head violently. "No!"
"How many times do I have to tell you?" Itami's eyes gleamed. "You're strong. Too strong. You're a monster."
Senko clutched his head, nails digging into his scalp. "Stop…"
Itami's voice rose to a scream, lips curved into a mad smile. "YOU HEAR ME? YOU'RE A MONSTER!"
Senko collapsed forward, face hitting the cold, blood-slicked ground. "No…"
Footsteps again. Closer.
"You killed them," Itami whispered. "You did it."
Suddenly, Senko's vision twisted. Images flashed in his mind—his hands slicing through comrades, his blade soaked in red, his own laughter echoing as he destroyed the entire Jenkiora. He stood over Leon's lifeless body. Over Korra's.
His eyes widened.
"I… killed them…"
Itami grinned. "There you go. Now you're waking up."
And then—he vanished, melting into shadow.
A hand touched Senko's shoulder.
He turned.
Leon.
Or what was left of him. Skin pale, face hollow, eyes empty.
"Senko…" the corpse croaked. "I… shouldn't ha-ve… trusted you."
The voice twisted, sharp with hatred.
"YOU'RE A MONSTER."
"No…" Senko backed away, shaking. "I didn't mean to—I didn't—"
The blood that stained the training ground began to shift. It flowed. It rose.
A flood.
It swallowed buildings, crept over rooftops, and surged toward Senko like a crimson tide. He turned to run—but the blood hit him like a wave.
He screamed, thrown under, kicking, struggling, trying to breathe.
The blood filled his mouth. His nose. His lungs.
"Stop… it hurts…"
The world went dark. Pressure crushed his chest.
"I'm sorry… Please… Help me…"
But no one came.
Senko woke up screaming.
His chest heaved, his skin slick with cold sweat. The morning sun spilled through the tent's fabric, and outside, birds chirped like nothing had happened. But inside him, chaos still raged.
Arden was already by his side, one hand on Senko's shoulder. "You okay?"
Senko's eyes trembled. Tears welled up and spilled over as he curled forward, voice breaking. "I killed them… I killed them all."
Shinra moved closer, kneeling down. Her voice was soft but firm. "Hey. It's okay—it was just a dream."
Senko shook his head violently. "What happened?" he asked, the tears now overflowing.
Arden exhaled. "Purple aura started leaking out of the tent. We came in and… your eyes were glowing. You were floating, Senko. There was this… haze of purple aura all over you. It was something else."
Shinra looked him in the eyes. "What did you see?"
"I killed them all," Senko whispered.
"Who?" Shinra asked gently.
"The whole Jenkiora. My friends. Even you two." His voice cracked. "Itami was there. He was smiling. I… I couldn't stop. Just kill me. Rip these evil eyes out of my sockets!" he screamed, clutching his face.
Arden grabbed his wrists. "Senko. It was just a dream. You're safe now."
"But it felt so real…" Senko muttered. "Like I was there. I could feel the pain, like it was my own."
"It was probably a lucid dream," Shinra said. "You were half-awake, maybe your aura reacted to it. But just be thankful it ended before worse happened."
Senko trembled. "I never asked for this. Why do I always get the crap end of life? I just… I just want to be normal for once."
Shinra placed a hand on his back. "Senko, in our eyes—you are normal. Just because you carry something dark inside doesn't mean you're a monster."
That stopped him. For a second, the sobbing paused. The words hit deeper than they probably realized.
Besides Headmaster Zeph, Master Hornstein, Tamado, Keen, Leon, and maybe even Korra… these two—Arden and Shinra—were the only ones who truly cared.
"Thank you," he whispered. He wiped his face and sat up straighter.
Shinra stood. "We've got to get going. We still have a long road ahead."
"Right." Senko rose to his feet. His body still ached from the night before, but the weight in his chest was a little lighter. He strapped his sword to his back, grabbed his belongings, and stepped out into the light.
Arden packed up the camp, shouldering the last of the gear as he fell in step behind them.
As they walked, Shinra glanced back at the sword strapped across Senko's back—Sanguivar.
When is he going to awaken the real power of that sword? she thought.
It's been 45 minutes since they were walking 3 more nights to get to the Stillflame Ravine. Senko's tummy started to growl he wanted to eat. It's like the fish last night didn't really do anything. Arden looked back "Your hungry huh." Senko nodded. "We will try to find something to eat the woods been kind of dry lately."
Shinra looked behind us intimidated "They caught on to us." Arden looked behind "They did."
Shinra's Armored Hora erupted to life, red aura flaring around her as crimson armor formed across her body—jagged, sleek, and pulsing with power. But in an instant, crackling arcs of white-blue lightning surged through the gaps in the armor, dancing across her limbs and coiling around her fists like living serpents. The sky itself seemed to respond, darkening slightly as the air hummed with static. Her eyes glowed with electric intensity, and every step she took left scorch marks on the ground. This was no ordinary Armored Hora—this was a storm given shape, fury and precision fused into a single warrior.
It was 3 warriors that worked for the nationally government they already had armored Hora on there bodies. "Look it's Shinra you traitor. You don't know mad I was when I heard you left us."
Shinra lightning started zapping out both of her hands "I won't be involved with people who hurt children all because they have a threat in them."
One of the warriors laughed "And if isn't Arden. This is going to be fun." The three lapped off a tree ready to strike. The two were ready but Senko was trying figure out what was going on it all happened to fast.
The ground trembled as the three government warriors crashed down, fists raised and weapons drawn. Their Armored Hora glinted with lethal intent—one wielded twin axes of compressed aura, another bore a spear crackling with frost, and the third had claws etched into his gauntlets like a beast unchained.
Shinra struck first. With a sharp thrust of her palms, a bolt of lightning screamed through the air and smashed into the ax-wielder mid-leap. The blast exploded on contact, sending him spiraling into a tree trunk with a smoking dent in his armor.
"I won't warn you again," she snapped, her voice like thunder.
The clawed warrior landed in front of Arden with a grin—but Arden was already moving. His Leek Hora-enhanced fists collided with the warrior's gauntlets in a deafening shockwave. Fire licked up Arden's arms, each punch radiating heat that warped the air.
"You picked the wrong day," Arden growled, his fist slamming into the enemy's chestplate, sparks and flames erupting from the point of impact.
The spear-wielder charged straight at Senko, eyes burning with intent. "That one's unstable. Take him down now!"
Senko stumbled backward, heart racing, unsure of what to do. His hands shook, the purple eye pulsing faintly. I can't… I'm not ready…
But then Shinra flashed in front of him, intercepting the spear with a crackling surge of lightning. The impact split the ground as her armored boot slammed down, blocking the strike.
"You're not touching him," she said coldly.
From the side, Arden roared as he tackled the clawed warrior through a tree, flames engulfing them both as they tumbled in a fiery spiral. The force of his Leek Hora-enhanced punches turned each strike into a mini-detonation.
Shinra's hands lit up with concentrated arcs of electricity. She raised both arms—and unleashed a chained lightning wave that leapt between all three enemies, electrocuting them in mid-motion. They screamed as the volts ripped through their armor, disabling one's gauntlet and shattering another's mask.
Senko fell to his knees, overwhelmed, but in awe. They're fighting for me…
The tide was turning.
Arden emerged from the smoke, armor scorched but intact, dragging one unconscious warrior behind him. "That's one down."
Shinra spun, tossing a bolt into the air that burst above them like a flare. "We don't have long. More might be coming."
Senko clenched his fists. The purple eye burned —like something inside him was waking up. I need to get stronger… I can't just watch.
He stood slowly, sword in hand. "I'll fight too."
To be Continued…